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Type an em-dash on an iPhone

Typography and punctuation geeks rejoice! It's easy to type an em-dash on the iPhone's or iPod touch's virtual keyboard. To do so, tap the .?123 key to switch to the numeric keypad. Then touch and hold on the Hyphen key to reveal a pop-up strip showing an em-dash. Slide to the em-dash and release your finger.

Note that this basic trick works with many other keys on the virtual keyboard.

Canvas Slated to Return to the Mac in 2014

On its mailing list, ACD Systems has announced that it is reviving the Mac version of Canvas, its technical drawing, pagination, and illustration app. ACD stopped making Canvas for the Mac in 2007. A beta of the resurrected program will be available in “spring 2014.”

“We have a lot to be excited about here. We know there are a lot of loyal Canvas Mac users out there, and we’re looking forward to being part of their workflow again,” said Dallas Vandekerkhove, Director of International Business Development at ACD Systems.

Canvas originated on the Macintosh in 1987, as part of the desktop publishing boom. It wasn’t until version 3.5 in 1992 that it was ported to Windows, and the final version for the Mac was Canvas X in 2005.

Canvas is the latest professional application to return to the Mac after a long absence. Autodesk brought AutoCAD back to the Mac in 2010 after a 16-year absence.

Comments about Canvas Slated to Return to the Mac in 2014(Comments are closed.)

This is the great news. I've been a Canvas Mac user since 1989 and use the program everyday, which is why i still have one computer running Snow Leopard, as it's a Power PC application. I specifically use this app to create technical drawings, without having to learn AutoCAD. It's really an amazing product.

I was an enthusiastic and skilled non-professional Canvas user up until they ported it to Windows. In the process, they trashed the Mac interface and destroyed most of my user knowledge. While I hope for the best with this move, I'll be cautiously watching before I return to Canvas.

Ditto, also loved 3.5 but life took a different direction. Have used Photoshop and Illustrator since but still miss the power and versatility of Canvas. Will be keen to evaluate the new version, not least because of Adobe's idiotic move to perpetual wallet drain technology.

It's about time! I have OS 10.6 installed on an external drive so I can still use Canvas. I've tested numerous vector graphic programs and rejected them all as inferior to Canvas. ACD apparently has finally realized that it's been ignoring an important market.

I've been using Canvas since the first version desk accessory in 1987. Like some others, I have a dedicated Mac running OS 6.8 just so I can use Canvas X. I have the entire Adobe suite, but Canvas is far more versatile and far faster. I'll be ready to buy Canvas for Mac as soon as (I'll skip the 'if') ACD has it ready.

Good to see this news! Ironically, I moved over to the Adobe Creative Suite when support for Canvas X was dropped on the Mac. Honestly, I much preferred the way that Canvas worked to the Adobe products.

Some recent statements about the forthcoming Canvas for Mac, if you're interested in the topic:

"Good news on the Canvas Mac front, we've increased the number of developers working on the Mac version now that Canvas 15 for PC has been released, and while we have Canvas X functioning on Mac, we're busy making sure that all the small stuff is working correctly, and hope to begin a closed public beta in spring of 2014."